While the California races for governor and U.S. Senate are hot, the battle for a single House seat in the East Bay and Central Valley has turned into a bellwether for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hopes of retaining her Democratic majority.

Both national political parties are pouring money into the contest between two-term incumbent Democrat and former windmill executive Rep. Jerry McNerney, 59 - who voted with Pelosi on the stimulus, the bank rescue, health care, and cap and trade - and Republican David Harmer, 48, a small-government conservative and son of a former California lieutenant governor under Ronald Reagan who has Tea Party backing.

The 11th Congressional District sprawls across four counties from Santa Clara to San Joaquin. In the northeast, Tracy has one of the nation's highest foreclosure rates, with 1 in every 63 homes facing foreclosure this year, according to RealtyTrac. Nearly 1 in 6 workers in San Joaquin County is unemployed. Democrats and Republicans in the district are split evenly, 39 to 39 percent, while 18 percent are independents who will decide the election.

Sharp distinctions

The race pits two men of sharply different political philosophies: McNerney calls himself a pragmatist who brings federal funds back to his district; Harmer calls himself a "fan of freedom" whose priority is cutting the federal deficit.

McNerney is favored to win the East Bay, Harmer the valley. McNerney has a 3-to-1 cash advantage and boasts a "killer" ground operation; Harmer cites his lead in public polls. Both parties call the race a pure toss-up.

Fighting the tide

McNerney rode a Democratic wave into office in 2006, aided by environmentalists who locked their sights on removing conservative Republican Richard Pombo. That wave has returned to sea and threatens to drag McNerney with it. He is distancing himself from President Obama and Pelosi, a rare move for a California Democrat.

"I am very frustrated with the party leadership because they didn't go after the economy strong enough these last two years," McNerney said. "It's been frustrating to me that the party, Barack and so on, didn't focus on jobs and fixing our economy as our highest priority. ... I'm frustrated that wasn't a priority with the speaker."

McNerney touts his work across party lines, including his rating by the National Journal as the most moderate member of either party in the California delegation. He points with pride to the federal money he has brought to his district, including a planned new veterans facility.

He's pro-gun and anti-estate tax.

McNerney has attacked Harmer as a carpetbagger who worked for, and took a severance from a rescued New York bank, and who wrote an op-ed for The Chronicle 10 years ago advocating the abolition of public schools.

Harmer, an attorney and former libertarian think-tank analyst, said he worked five months for JP Morgan Chase in 2008 before getting laid off and collecting a standard employee severance of $80,000 and a $70,000 bonus for his work the year before. He attributed his first run at Congress in Utah in 1996 to youthful error. He was crushed in his second race last year against Democratic Rep. John Garamendi in the neighboring 10th district. He lives in San Ramon, which is divided between the two districts.

Residence dispute

"If the most important issue to somebody is, should I live a mile further west in a district that was gerrymandered to stretch from Gilroy to Lodi," Harmer said, "I'm not going to get their vote."

He blamed the GOP for initiating the rapid rise in deficit spending, which he would fight as his top priority should he win.

Keeping public schools

Deficit spending "had its origins under a Republican president and a Republican Congress," Harmer said. "It has accelerated massively under the Democratic successors, but it's a difference in degree and not in kind."

As for his former advocacy of abolishing public schools, Harmer said he "absolutely" does not believe that, adding that his four children are in public schools. He said he wrote the opinion at The Chronicle's request as a counterpoint to one advocating the abolition of private schools.

McNerney's focus is on boosting clean energy and bringing home federal money. He has a pile of endorsements from local GOP officials.

"I want to get things done," he said. "I want to work for my district. That means working both sides of the aisle," including a bill he sponsored to address traumatic brain injury in veterans and raising combat pay.

Across the aisle

"To work with my local elected officials on projects of interest to them, that's my approach," he said. "If something is needed in my district, I don't care what party they are."

Harmer calls that pork-barreling on borrowed money.

"That's not a game I'm interested in playing," Harmer said. "The idea that we can borrow money we don't have to spend on things we can't afford out of current receipts, passing the tab on to the next generation ... is intergenerational theft, it's fiscal child abuse. If you want to boast about that, go ahead."

McNerney said he's proud of the new projects, which also include a women's center in San Joaquin County and an after-school program in Manteca.

"I'm proud to bring that money," McNerney said. "I just wonder which ones of those my opponent would want to take off the table."

Bellwether race for state's 11th Congressional District

The race for California's 11th Congressional District pits two-term incumbent Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, against David Harmer of San Ramon. Their views differ sharply, best illustrated by Democratic congressional leaders' proposal to set a moratorium on foreclosures with murky paperwork:

McNerney: "Banks should absolutely not be allowed to proceed with foreclosure unless they have the paperwork. What was happening was a disgrace. Some of these big banks took bailout money, they gave each other bonuses, and then they're trying to take advantage of consumers who are hurting. That's absolutely wrong. I'm definitely in favor of a self-imposed moratorium. We ought to look more closely if they're following the rules - and if they're not, they should be punished."

Harmer: "I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but people will lose their homes. That's the nature of foreclosure. For everybody who overpaid for a home or can't afford it, there's a young family that's been trying to save to get a home that needs prices to drop. The longer the government tries to shield people from the consequences of the mortgage meltdown, the longer we're going to put off a recovery. Prices need to reach a clearing point."